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Hello, Share Troopers. Are we still 'Going Well with Shell, Shell, Shell?' The words of the famous Bing Crosby TV advert of the 1950s still seem pertinent here. The oil jumbo Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) & (RDSB) is my biggest holding, mainly for the high dividend. But I also have hopes for the share price, which, given the rise and rise of Brent Crude, seems too low to me...

Hello, Share Cringers. Have you noticed how the price of crude oil is creeping up? In the distant past, I think I recall, it was higher than $140 a barrel. Then it dipped to around $30 in 2016 on glut fears. It managed to rally above $80 a barrel in September last year, before toppling again to around $46 - and now it’s hauled back up to $70. Recently though, the share prices of the oil giants have not improved enormously...

So news today that Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) is going all vertically integrated and looking to expand its nascent utility arm by renaming its 2017 purchase of First Utility as Shell Energy and offering new customers a discount on their fuel bills. As part of an ongoing slow shift away from classic fossil fuels, this approach has some merit to it...but it leads to one very obvious question: how is Shell going to make this business even mildly relevant to its business?

Hello, Share Twirlers. Having just reminded myself that the p/e I have for Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA and RDSB) is a mere 11, I think it may be time to look at this giant company again. It was at least two years ago that at least one big bank was opining the B shares worth 2800p, yet, after posting much bigger profits since then, the price still languishes at around 2400p...

Hello Share Pacers. Recently I opined that BP (BP.) was possibly a better bet than its rival Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA and RDSB) at the moment. But there’s not much in it, and it might be a good idea to take out the insurance of investing in both jumbos. The thing driving both shares at the moment is, of course, the rising oil price...

Hello Share Kindlers. The price of Brent Crude has fallen rather a lot in the last six weeks. From $85 to $62 a barrel to be more precise. That’s understandable, as the black stuff was becoming a bit toppy. Part of the fall is due to a strange cycle in the oil market...

Hello Share Manglers. Lots of my shares and cash are still held in the Beaufort Securities administration process. When checking my family’s cash which is in there, I discovered that it had grown quite a bit since the firm’s enforced close down. This is down to dividends which have been paid in the interim.

Hello, Share Pickers. When a share continues to look even more promising after earlier recommendations, there’s an excuse to return to the story. So let’s have yet another stab at Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) - there are also Shell ‘B’ shares, known as 'RDSB', which are subject to Dutch rules on dividends, so you may get a better yield from these.

If I mention the names Vodafone (VOD), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and Unilever (ULVR) to you, what is your first reaction? Stalwarts of the FTSE-100? Dividend-heavy behemoths that will never let you down? Holdings in my company pension fund? You could also add three names that reported earlier today and collectively add up to a very decent chunk of the UK's leading index.

Back in October I bought shares in Rolls Royce (RR), saw them ride up to over £10.50…and Monday – after another profits guidance warning – saw them back at the aforementioned c. £8 level. A true Grand Old Duke of York share: riding up to the top of the hill and then riding down again.